Report by Jpost: The Likud also opened fire Sunday on Shas, warning that the party
would soon draft legislation requiring yeshiva students to serve in the
IDF, vowing to take the Housing Ministry back from Shas, and promising
ads attacking one of Shas's leaders, Arye Deri, for supporting the Oslo
diplomatic process.
"Deri is not our natural partner the way Shas
used to be when only Eli Yishai was in charge,” a Likud official said in
a remark that angered leading Shas officials.
Sources in Shas
said it was now clear that Netanyahu did not want them in his next
coalition. They said all political options would be open to the party,
including recommending to President Shimon Peres that Labor leader
Shelly Yacimovich form the next government instead of Netanyahu.
“Netanyahu
is known in politics as someone who takes advantage of people and then
throws them away without even letting them know,” a Shas official said.
Note: The strategy is believed to be to suffocate the Right-Wing Bloc, by siphoning out as much votes possible from Bayit Yehudi and Shas, in order to expand the Likud Beitenu base of voters, and arrive in a strong upper hand in forming the next government.